Bright red,No need to hold it there .Oven will be too cold.propane torch will be good enough. start at one end when it gets to red then move the torch slowly taking the red with you as you traverse all of the gasket face.A light rub with steel wool to clean off the oxide.Roll your thumbnail on the gasket it should leave an indent if the gasket is full soft.25 ft/lbs should be more than enough tension for all but 10:1 compression ratios.Thick washers are essential for alloy heads to spread the load and prevent the head collapsing back into the stud hole.If you buy them go to a car parts shop and ask for some thigh tensile head bolt washers.

Run the engine for an hour or so , let it cool then retension.After that every couple of runs check that the bolts are still tensioned fully. Repeat till none are found loose.Sometimes only 1 retension is needed some times it may tack 4 or more nip ups till they are stable.

Or.... If you want to mix leisure with pleasure, when the barbecue coals are red hot - shove it in till it glows, toss it in the pool and treat yourself to a swim to fish it out.Actually I use a primus stove which works really well, but doesn't sound so attractive

Or.... If you want to mix leisure with pleasure, when the barbecue coals are red hot - shove it in till it glows, toss it in the pool and treat yourself to a swim to fish it out.Actually I use a primus stove which works really well, but doesn't sound so attractive

Go to the bathroom, remove your cloths and flail yourself with a stretched greasy timing chain.

Copper will adsorb both carbon and oxygen if heated in coals.This will leave it tough with britle spots, not really what you want from a head gasket

Bright red,No need to hold it there .Oven will be too cold.propane torch will be good enough. start at one end when it gets to red then move the torch slowly taking the red with you as you traverse all of the gasket face.

Quench

Quote

A light rub with steel wool to clean off the oxide.Roll your thumbnail on the gasket it should leave an indent if the gasket is full soft.25 ft/lbs should be more than enough tension for all but 10:1 compression ratios.Thick washers are essential for alloy heads to spread the load and prevent the head collapsing back into the stud hole.If you buy them go to a car parts shop and ask for some thigh tensile head bolt washers.

No need to quench you are not trying to trap a high temperatiure phase at a low temperature.However it does knock off heavy scale.A light rub with white vinegar while warm ( cool enough to hold in your hand ) wil clean it off as well.

Hi VW,I'm presuming you are talking about the 4 outer studs on the rockerbox ?I'm just about to refit one on a customer engine and have measured them 36/37mmThe rear have long sleeve nuts and spacers, do you have these?There was a thread about these in the last week or two